Teddy Bear

Background

Most people born in this century have probably encountered teddy bears
during their lives, for the teddy bear was developed around the turn of
the century. Toy bears developed out of admiration for real bears. About
110,000 years ago, Neanderthal hunters collected skulls of a large brown
bear (now extinct) in a shrine where the Cult of the Bear worshiped for
over 50,000 years. In modern times, the bear is still considered a symbol
of strength, courage, and endurance. Bears share many characteristics with
humans, including the abilities to stand upright and to hug, and they also
fiercely protect their cubs. Bears are sometimes called the "clowns
of the woods" because they dance, sit on their haunches, and roll
head over hind paws.

In medieval stories, Bruin the bear was a popular character. In Russia,
the bear of folklore evolved into a caricature named
"Mishka." The rest of the world learned of Mishka during the
1980 Olympic Games when he became the mascot of the games and a
collectible toy. Since the teddy bear's invention, Winnie-the-Pooh,
Paddington Bear, Big Teddy and Little Teddy (characters in a set of
stories by H. C. Craddock), Yogi and Boo-Boo Bear, Smokey, and Sesame
Street's Fozzie bear have become much loved friends and toys from
the bear kingdom. Psychologists explain our connection with the teddy bear
as "transitional;" children rely on teddies as secretive
confidants who help them move away from total dependence on their parents.

History

The teddy bear was born in two parts of the world at about the same time.
In 1903 in Giengen, Germany, Margarete Steiff made toy animals out of felt
in a small factory owned by her family. Her nephew, Richard Stieff,
encouraged her to make a bear based on his sketches following a visit to
the Stuttgart Zoo.

Margarete was afraid a toy bear would be too frightening, so she softened
the bear's snout into a friendly, pert nose and gave him a slightly
hunched back like a real bear. She cut a pattern out of brown mohair pile
fabric and created a bear whose head, arms, and legs were articulated so
they could move independently and so the bear could sit or stand. The toy
was stuffed with excelsior (wood shavings used as packing material), and
he had shoe-button eyes and an embroidered nose and other features. At a
toy show in Leipzig, Germany, Richard displayed the bear, which caught the
attention of an American toy buyer who ordered 3,000 bears. Steiff bears
in many variations from Margarete's original have been made in the
Steiff factory in Germany ever since, where thousands are now produced
every day.

Meanwhile, in the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt was becoming
known as a champion of the natural wonders and wildlife of America. While
on a diplomatic mission to settle the disputed boundary between the states
of Louisiana and Mississippi, he went hunting for the brown bear famous in
the area, but the bears eluded him. His hosts did not want to disappoint
the President, so they captured a bear for him. But the captive was only a
cub, and the President would not hurt a creature who had not been fairly
hunted. A political cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a
characterization of the bespectacled President
and the fluffy, sweet-faced bear he had refused to shoot, and the cartoon
appeared in newspapers on November 16, 1902.

At a candy store in Brooklyn, New York, Morris Michtom read about the
President and the cub. His wife, Rose, made toy ponies to sell in their
shop. Mr. Michtom asked her to make a bear instead, and they began selling
"Teddy's Bears" in honor of the President. Curiously,
the Michtom's bears, later known as Morris bears, looked much like
those of Margarete Steiff with button eyes, embroidered mouths and noses,
articulated joints that allowed limbs and heads to move, cloth soles, and
felt claws.

Michtom wrote to the President for permission to name the bears after him,
and the President officially approved the teddy bear. The Steiffs claimed
that some of first shipment of 3,000 bears were used to decorate tables at
a wedding President Roosevelt attended. By 1907, almost one million teddy
bears had been sold, and, since the early 1950s, bear sales have typically
been on the order of one-quarter of a million bears per year.

Raw Materials

The original teddy bears were made (on both sides of the Atlantic) with
mohair fabric "fur" that was commonly used for upholstery,
black leather shoe-button eyes, and excelsior packing as stuffing. In the
1920s, glass eyes were used, but both the glass and button eyes pulled off
easily. In 1948, Wendy Boston patented a screw-in eye made of molded
nylon. These were supplanted in the 1950s by plastic eyes mounted on stems
and fastened securely to the inside of the fabric with grommets or
washers. These safety eyes became standard by the 1960s.

Teddy bear photos from a Ladies' Home Journal article on
how to dress them for Christmas, December 1907.

(From the Collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield
Village.)

The teddy bear craze reached its height in America between 1906 and
1908, coinciding with President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt's
second term in office. Across the country, adults and children alike
were going "teddy bear mad."

In addition to the huge variety of regular teddy bears produced by
manufacturers both at home and abroad, many unusual teddy bears were
also introduced at this time. For example, a "Laughing Roosevelt Bear"
was designed to reproduce President Roosevelt's toothy grin. A
self-whistling bear produced a whistling sound when it was turned upside
down and back upright again. An "Electric Eye" bear had a mechanism in
its stomach that, when pressed, activated lights in its eyes
(unfortunately, these mechanisms quickly broke).

Also during these years, teddy bear images appeared on many other
consumer goods, including automobile accessories, baby rattles, jigsaw
puzzles, postcards and greeting cards, and even the cover for a hotwater
bottle. And it was in 1907 that John W. Bratton composed "The Teddy Bear
Two-Step," to become famous later as the tune for "The Teddy
Bear's Picnic."

Some teddy bear lovers enjoyed humanizing their bears by dressing them
up in doll-like clothes. The above photos feature a set of teddy-bear
clothes that could be sewn for children as a Christmas gift. The
pattern, which cost 15 cents, came in three sizes to fit 12-, 16-, and
20-inch bears. The article that accompanied these photos claimed that,
"Even the crossest teddy bear would be pleased if he found this nice set
of clothes in his Christmas stocking!"

Donna R. Braden

Changes have also occurred in the construction of articulated bears.
Materials for the original designs included disks and cotter pins
(twistable fasteners) that attached separately made arms, legs, and heads
to a body that had to be firmly stuffed to support the pins. The early
disks were made of wood with leather coverings to protect the outer fur.
Companies using this process today have substituted plastic disks, but the
manufacture is still largely

by hand and is expensive. In the 1940s, teddy bears were made with
prestuffed arms that were sewn into the body seams and legs. The joints
were stuffed loosely, so these bears could flex at the joints without
being articulated.

Today's materials are most varied in fabric. Plushes made of many
fibers are popular because they are fur-like. Early bears were made of
mohair that consisted of Angora (goat's wool), sheep's wool,
rayon, or silk. Today's plush may be wool, silk, rayon, nylon,
other synthetics, or combinations of fibers. Velvet or velveteen (velvet
made of cotton instead of silk or synthetics) is popular for its softness
and range of colors. Fake fur fabrics are classics for modern bears. Fake
fur is different from plush because it has a knitted instead of woven
backing that is lightweight and flexible; the shaping of the fiber can
eliminate sheen and closely resemble real fur with blended colors. Real
fur can also be used for teddy bears, but fur bears are delicate and
require special care.

Other fabrics like corduroy, denim, calico, terry cloth, and velour are
also bear basics. They are selected for variety in producing durable bears
of terry cloth for babies and cowboy bears of denim, for example.

Leather and suede (real or synthetic) produces handsome feet and paws.
Felt can also be used for these and other features or for entire bears,
but this fabric is not strong and tends to wear. Similarly, bears can be
knitted or crocheted, but the resulting fabric stretches. Other raw
materials include thread, embroidery floss for noses and other features,
glue, Velcro™ for fastenings, and eye assemblies made of plastic
and metal. Polyester stuffing has replaced the wood shavings used in the
original teddy bears to produce products that are more durable and
huggable. If the manufactured bears are clothed or decorated, a wide range
of fabrics, ribbons, fasteners, and decorations (like eyeglasses for a
Teddy Roosevelt bear) may be required.

Design

The design for a new model of teddy bear is first sketched by an artist
experienced in toy design and the manufacturing process. Based on a sketch
or conception of the planned bear, pieces of the bear are also drawn to be
used in making a pattern. The pattern is cut out and assembled, and the
prototype bear is examined for "character flaws." If the
design prevents the bear from sitting properly, for example, or if the
prototype is not appropriately cuddly or distinguished, the design is
redrawn, shapes of pieces are changed, or different colors or fabrics may
be used to make another prototype. Many trials may be required to perfect
the design before it is ready for large-scale manufacture. Factors such as
popular interests and headlines may be considered in planning new designs
where a respectable volume of sales is needed to justify manufacture. For
instance, a bear producer in California sells a stuffed bear resembling
the bruin on the California state flag, but this item would not
necessarily sell well elsewhere.

The Manufacturing
Process

After the design is accepted, it is transferred to a blueprint from
which paper patterns are made. The shapes are cut out and pinned to
fabric. Many layers of plush may be stacked with the pattern pinned on
the top, and a cutter with a blade much like a band saw is used to cut
out many pieces at one time. Rows of workers sit behind industrial
sewing machines.
Each is responsible for one style of bear. He or she will assemble the
small pieces first, add the eyes and grommet attachments to the face,
and then stitch the parts together. The bears are inside out with their
seams exposed and openings down the long seam in the back. Finally, the
bears are pulled right side out and dispatched to be stuffed. The volume
a worker produces depends on the type of bear; one may produce 35 to 45
baby bears in one day or eight or nine larger species.

The stitched bear is then stuffed. The manufacturer purchases polyester
fiber in 500 lb (227 kg) bales in which the fiber is tightly packed. The
fiber is dual density with a very fine fiber and a thicker, slightly
wavy fiber; together, these fibers have the most desirable packing
quality for stuffing animals. Because the polyester comes so tightly
packed, batches of it are tossed into a picker, which is a barrel lined
with spikes that fluffs the stuffing. The fluffed material is blown by
air into a stuffing machine. These machines have evolved little since
World War H, when the machines were used to stuff flight jackets for the
United States Navy and Army Air Force. Air pressure blows the stuffing
into the bear through a small diameter tube. The operator can manipulate
the bear to direct the stuffing to various parts of the toy. A pedal
release on the stuffing machine controls the puffs of stuffing. Two
pushes on the pedal, for example, may be needed to pump enough stuffing
from the machine's nozzle into the nose of the bear, which needs
to be firm. The head, feet, and paws also need to be firm, but the body
should be squeezably soft. The operator can always apply the "hug
test" to evaluate satisfactory cuddliness and provide quality
control from bear to bear.

The stuffed bear is then passed to another worker, a "bear
surgeon," who stitches up the opening in the back of the bear.
The whole bear is then groomed. Because the plush fabric was stitched
inside out, "fur" is caught in the seams and must be
pulled out so the seams do not show. An electrically powered wire brush
is used to fluff the seams, and the bear is then blown through an array
of air jets to remove the loose fuzz and brush the fur. Final details
like costumes, ribbons, and accessories are added before the bear is
packaged for transport and sale.

Quality Control

Although teddy bears are mass produced, their design and production
requires hands-on attention throughout the manufacturing process. Fabric
cutters, assemblers, stuffing machine operators, and bear surgeons,
groomers, and dressers all share great pride in knowing their product will
give and receive much love over the years of its life. Hand-production
ensures that the bears are inspected at every step in their manufacture,
and that mistakes do not reach the packaging department.

Byproducts/Waste

There are no byproducts from the manufacture of teddy bears, although
there are co-products consisting of other types of stuffed animals and
dolls. Small stuffed creatures are sometimes designed with pattern pieces
to fit between bear segments so fabric is not wasted. Fabric scraps and
errant stuffing constitute most of the waste from bear production, and
this material cannot be recycled and is disposed.

Safety concerns are important in the bear factory. The machinery is
powered by electricity, requiring safety precautions; fabric cutters,
sewing machines, wire brushes, and other machines are equipped with
emergency shutoffs and other safety devices. Operators wear masks over
their mouths and noses to prevent them from inhaling the airborne fluff.
Safety glasses are also worn during some operations.

The Future

The future for teddy bears can only be a picnic. New interpretations of
this much-loved creature follow trends in movies, television, and toy
fashion from character bears to miniature, beanbag-like versions that are
inexpensive and collectible. A teddy bear has even flown on the Space
Shuttle when, in February 1995, Magellan T. Bear from the Elk Creek
Elementary School in Pine, Colorado, joined a NASA mission as the
school's ambassador. Teddy bears are popular with children,
obviously, but also with adult collectors who build on their childhood
friends and often invest in limited editions or bears made from prized
designs and rare materials. In a world with increasing emphasis on
technology, teddy bears remind us of our childhood and provide an
unlimited supply of fuzzy hugs.